The cryptocurrency ecosystem is undergoing a structural transformation: the focus is shifting from pure speculation toward value creation and sustainable income streams. This transition was highlighted by Multicoin Capital, one of the most influential venture capital firms in the sector.
The firm predicts that the next-generation market will evolve from directly purchasing tokens to dynamic “Internet Labor Markets.” Consequently, users will earn cryptocurrencies by contributing valuable work to decentralized networks.
From Buying Crypto to Earning It: The Shift Proposed by Multicoin
Historically, entering the crypto market was limited to acquiring and passively exchanging assets. However, as Shayon Sengupta, a partner at Multicoin Capital, rightly points out: “There are only two ways to get started in the world of cryptocurrencies: buying or earning.” This premise defines the current transition toward more productive models, where obtaining tokens becomes the main driver.
In this regard, Sengupta explains that this means users contribute work or resources directly to protocols. In return, they receive token rewards, creating a direct link between contribution and compensation. This model, often called “work-to-earn” or “contribute-to-earn,” forms the basis of Internet Labor Markets (ILM).Unlike the conventional employment system, these markets operate under a radically different logic:
|
Feature |
Traditional labor model |
Internet labor markets |
| Access | Requires permission, interviews, and contracts. | Permissionless, open to any user. |
| Intermediaries | Companies, platforms, and banks. | Decentralized networks and Smart Contracts. |
| Compensation | Salaries in fiat currency with delays. | Native tokens settled in near real-time. |
| Value Contribution | Primarily time and physical/mental effort. | Work, resources (hardware), or expertise (data). |
| Ownership | The worker does not own the platform. | The user is often a co-owner through their tokens. |
Why Is Work a Better Gateway Than Speculation?
Over the past decade, the gateway to the crypto ecosystem was almost exclusively financial: converting traditional money into assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana. However, this price-based model generates volatile adoption. The true paradigm shift occurs when adoption stems from utility.
As Shayon Sengupta states: “In the future, people won’t get their first cryptocurrency because they bought it; it will be because they earned it.”
The Onboarding of Direct Experience
The fundamental difference is educational. While the speculative investor only looks at a chart, someone who gets paid in crypto develops organic digital literacy:
- They need to set up and manage a wallet.
- They learn to interact with different networks.
- They understand the value and operability of tokens naturally through use, not theory.
The Emergence of Internet Labor Markets
This concept is gaining traction in ecosystems like Solana, where infrastructure allows tasks to be verified and settled instantly and at low cost. ILMs invert the traditional dynamic: instead of requiring capital to participate, they allow users to contribute their human capital.
“If you have a system that allows you to issue new assets and transfer them at a very low cost, you can coordinate labor globally,” Sengupta explains.
The Technological Advantage
The true disruption compared to traditional employment is efficiency. While the conventional system relies on invoices, HR departments, and banking delays, blockchain architecture allows for deterministic verification.
|
Dimension |
Traditional employment |
Internet Labor Markets (ILM) |
| Verification | Manual / Trust-based | Automatic / Cryptographic |
| Payment | Monthly/bi-weekly cycles | Instantaneous (upon task completion) |
| Scale | Limited by borders and laws | Global and frictionless |
| Friction | High (contracts, approvals) | Minimal (code and execution) |
What Role Does AI Play in This Model?
The next phase of this evolution is not limited to passive data extraction but to a model where humans and AI agents collaborate actively. It is at this point that the convergence between blockchain and AI materializes as a global labor market, profoundly transforming the relationship between both technologies. According to Shayon Sengupta, much of the work in the crypto ecosystem will, ultimately, have a direct relationship with Artificial Intelligence.
A tangible example is Grass, a network that allows users to share their unused bandwidth via software installed on their devices. This resource is used for data extraction tasks critical to training AI models. “People all over the world download the software, contribute spare bandwidth, and earn tokens for participating in the network,” Sengupta states.
However, the model is scaling: the next stage is not just about gathering massive information but about humans applying their judgment. This involves labeling data and evaluating its quality in ways that only humans can, allowing the next generation of labor markets to consist of collaborating with AI systems rather than competing against them.
Sengupta argues that, paradoxically, AI could increase the demand for distributed human collaborators. As companies become smaller and more automated, they still depend on people for tasks requiring judgment, verification, or real-world execution.
In practice, AI reduces the size of core teams but increases the need for on-demand collaborators. This generates a massive demand for systems that can source, verify, and compensate those contributions globally and instantly, consolidating decentralized networks as the essential infrastructure for the future of global employment.
A Thesis Yet to Be Proven
Despite the disruptive potential of Internet Labor Markets, this vision remains a thesis yet to be proven. Many of the crypto sector’s most ambitious promises have taken years to materialize or, in some cases, have failed to move beyond a niche stage. The current model is in an early experimentation phase, where obstacles to mass adoption, global regulatory uncertainty, and user experience frictions represent critical barriers to its maturity.
If Multicoin thesis holds true, the next crypto users will not arrive driven by speculation but by work. That would change the sector’s narrative more profoundly than any price cycle.
